Michael Mapes

Specimen No. AM
2007
16”w x 14” h x 3” d

Photographic prints, misc collage materials, insect pins, pinning foam, glass vials, magnifiers, gelatin capsules, resin filled plastic containers, within wood box with glass cover.

New York artist Michael Mapes is a collector. Well, maybe not your typical one. His art is inspired by scientific specimen collections. His photographs themselves question the logic behind the organization of each piece. By dissecting and then compartmentalizing individual fragments within plastic bags, glass vials, magnifiers, and on insect pins, he has created a “biographical DNA” in the form of such things as hair, finger nails, scent, eye lashes, fingerprints, food, botanical elements, fabric swatches, makeup, dirt, handwriting samples and breath. This creative process creates an uncanny area between photography and sculpture.

From Juxtapoz